Zeke had mentioned in a comment that he’d like to see more mention of brass items on this site and I just happen to have the occasion to do so. I recently ran across this letter rack/holder in an antique shop and it was the perfect holder to organize the piles of mail and magazines in my kitchen.  It is the tallest that I have seen and can easily accommodate full-size magazines, let alone my letters. Continue Reading »

During the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th century, brass, lighting and silverplate manufacturers produced “Art Brass” furnishings as an extension of their existing business for middle-to-upper class families.  They were composed primarily of Brass (copper/zinc) though some were of Bronze (copper/tin) or a combination of brass, copper and German silver, or plated alloys.

One of those Manufacturers was Bradley & Hubbard, who Magazine Antiques attributes the stand below to and believes it to be made between 1880 and 1885.  The ceramic tile on the top surface is made by Gien Faience factory and is marked “Japonais No 3″ and “Gien”.  The tile markings confirm a common theme of these pieces at the time of incorporating Anglo-Japanese styles.  One can also see some modern gothic influences in the arches at the feet. Continue Reading »

Paul Tucker found what I believe to be the likely explanation behind this metal-clad armchair that was discussed several posts ago. Paul ran into a patent filed by Erastus W. Whitlock.

A drawing included in the patent application depicts a metal-coated bed post whose core is made of wood.  The purpose of the patent was to declare a new alternative to solid metal (brass) beds and furniture.  Brass furniture had a very pleasing appearance but was very expensive to manufacture, lacked rigidity, and when transported was very likely to sustain knocks and dings.  Per the patent application:

Therefore it follows that to provide articles of the class specified, which while having all of the pleasing and decorative qualities of brass or analogously-formed articles also have that solidity and rigidity which is not present in tubular articles as usually placed upon the market, and at the same time to furnish such an article at materially less cost than such tubular articles, constitutes an important advance in the art.

… In practice I have found that lead-foil is well adapted for the purpose, This foil may be placed, usually in sheet form, upon the core in any desired manner, as by pressure-for instance, hydraulic pressure-in which case the metallic sheet-and the wood are immersed in a tank or tube of water and the parts hermetically sealed, so that the water will not get between the metal and the wood, Whereupon the water is placed under the required pressure, thereby forcing the metal or foil into all the crevices and shape of the wood and completely covering the wood and fixing the foil rigidity hereto.

I would assume that this chair was manufactured by applying the process described in Whitlock’s patent.  Thanks, Paul, for the heads up.

Thanks to all who responded this weekend on the puzzler that I posted on Friday. Above you will find another version of the chair that was pictured and here you will find another version as well. The big differences between the chair I posted on Friday and above are the brass swan finials as well as the brass ball-and-claw feet. I have never before seen an all-wood version and neither have some of you.

Here are some other known variations of unknown frequency:

• The chair arms often have wooden or brass curved terminations (though not always) that reconnect down by the seat (see the chair at the link above).
• There are versions without a finial in the stretcher
• The height of the seat from the ground can be lower when there is not a finial in place
• There is usually a spiral stretcher piece in the front

There were some very observant comments that I’d like to address:

• “The seat is usually square or rectangular in shape” - I’ve seen this to be the case on this chair design but not the above chair.
• “There is often lattice incorporated in the seat or back of the chair” - yes, but I consider that chair to be a completely different model or design, seen here.
• “Griffins are commonly employed or other traditional Victorian finials, unlike the swan-shaped finial here” - yes, but you generally see them on this chair here, which I view as a different design.
• I can’t address Tom’s comments about the seat shape. The pictures are not complete enough for me to directly compare and I don’t know enough about woodworking to comment on the lathed/milled seat. He very well could be right.

Other notes

• The brothers’ name is spelled Merklen without an “i” present
• There is never a glass ball in the foot of a Merklen piece, only wood
• This is not a Hunzinger and he never produced anything similar to this chair. If you find one, it is probably also a mis-marked Merklen.

The Conspiracy Theory

It was suggested by Tom that this chair was a reproduction. This is possible and can be suggested by a few points:

1. The patina does not look to be typical of Merklen pieces of this age. It appears to be lighter than the norm, though light exposure, environment, refinishing, etc., over it’s lifetime could have caused this.
2. Take a look at the turned spirals in the back. There are some hardly noticeable, but clearly important differences in them. The early originals have more detail where the spirals come to contact with the crest rail and the seat.
3. The wooden finials and feet. No one that I am aware of has ever seen this on a Merklen chair of this style.

Someone would have to inspect the chair in person to put this theory to rest. I’m not sure why one would reproduce this chair since so many are available for purchase at auction and it is not exactly a chair that retails in the 5 figures. I asked the seller their perspective, though I’m not fully understanding their response:

Hi, this Merklen STYLE chair looks too new, or has been really refinished to dimish the value from $ 2500 down to my estimates. I would GUESS its an old chair refinished way to well… Cant find any screws etc…

I believe there are two winners in this case and I’d like to send Tom and Connie both a copy of the book. Nice job, both of you, and please send me your addresses when you get a chance.

Thanks to Yesterday’s Antiques for permitting me to take the above photo from their showroom (which is mindblowing in person, by the way).